Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator. I am glad to have this opportunity to discuss the future of early learning and care and school-age childcare in the country, particularly the role of the city and county childcare committees. I appreciate the Senator pushing back this Commencement matter by a week to allow me address the matter directly.

The 20 city and county childcare committees, CCCs, which operate nationwide and are funded by my Department, act as the local agent for my Department in the co-ordination and delivery of national early education and childcare programmes and the implementation of Government policy at a local level. They have a key role in facilitating and supporting the development of quality, accessible early learning and care and school-age childcare services for the overall benefit of children and their parents.

The CCCs provide invaluable support, guidance and advice to the early learning and care and school-age childcare sector. Over the past number of months they have been a vital mechanism whereby my Department has been able to disseminate the information and the guidance needed by the sector to respond to Covid-19. I want to recognise the major role CCCs have played across this time.

CCCs are often the first point of contact for service providers and in that respect they have assisted service providers with a broad range of issues from reopening supports such as how to implement a play pod system and comply with the public health guidelines, providing services with sustainability supports, providing information on funding and assisting services, and childminders, in accessing capital and reopening grant programmes to name but a few. CCCs also provide training, mentoring and information on quality practice and how to meet statutory regulations. As well as assisting service providers, they also have a key role in providing guidance for parents and families in sourcing quality, early learning and care and school-age childcare services.

It should be noted that no decision has been taken on the future of the city and county childcare committees nor has any decision been pre-supposed by the Department, its officials or myself, as Minister.

In reference to the quotation, the Deputy is right that Michael Brennan is a brilliant journalist but he was quoting something that was in a briefing docent. What is in quotes in that are not my words. If it was taken in context as my words I could see how the CCC sector would be very concerned but those are not my words.

In First 5: A Whole-of-Government Strategy for Babies, Young Children and their Families 2019-2028, which was published in November 2018, the Department committed to completing a comprehensive review of the operating model for early learning and care and school-age childcare in the country.

Following a Cabinet decision that was taken in July, my Department has begun to undertake an independent review process regarding the many bodies and organisations under its remit as part of the existing system and of which CCCs form a part. The review's objective is to ensure that the operating system is equipped to ensure continued high-quality childcare can be delivered to the scale and standards required in the sector which has seen substantial growth in the past decades, with parents and children as the core beneficiaries.

The final operating system will support high-quality, accessible and affordable early learning and care and school-age childcare services to children and families through the efficient and effective administration of a number of programmes, schemes and quality initiatives and other functions such as compliance and communications. The operating model will support providers, operate transparently and accountably, provide value for money to the Exchequer and demonstrate good governance. The model will also enable appropriate linkages and effective working relations with all the other agencies and Departments charged with delivering better outcomes for children and families.

The review will formally commence at the end of this month and will conclude in July 2021. The review will be led by my Department, with appropriate assistance from external bodies secured by tender. In addition, the Department will engage with all relevant stakeholders, including CCCs, in the process.I assure the Senator that no decision has been reached as to the future status of any of the support structures operating within the early learning and care and school-age childcare sector, including city and county childcare committees.

Next week, I will be meeting representatives from Childcare Committees Ireland, the representative body in this sector. Any decision taken on the future structure of the system used to administer childcare will be informed by a robust evidence base and high-quality, independent analysis. To this end, I will be awaiting the report on the review before making any determination as to the future landscape of the sector.